Daniel Im

Pastor + Author

coronavirus

2020 in a Single Word = ________

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What word would you use to sum up 2020?

When you’re sitting down with your not-yet-born children, grandchildren, or great grandchildren, what are you going to say about 2020? And when you read through the not-yet-written history books outlining the COVID-19/coronavirus global pandemic of 2020, what lens will you be looking through? What word will you be searching for?

Unprecedented?

Interruption?

Change?

Pivot?

In 2020, according to Google, the phrase “Why?” was searched more than ever before:

  • Why is the NBA postponed?
  • Why is Parasite so good?
  • Why am I so tired?
  • Why are schools closed?
  • Why is toilet paper sold out?
  • Why is March so long?
  • Why is Australia burning?
  • Why is the sky orange?
  • Why are so many people dying?
  • Why is empathy important?
  • Why are people protesting?
  • Why do black lives matter?
  • Why are we not defeated?
  • Why is the election so divisive?
  • Why is democracy important?
  • Why do people dream?

For me, the word of 2020 is LOSS.

This past year was a year of loss.

2020 was filled with more loss than anyone should ever experience—not just in a year, but in a lifetime:

  • The loss of life
  • The loss of health
  • The loss of jobs
  • The loss of finances
  • The loss of stability
  • The loss of normal
  • The loss of in-person
  • The loss of touch
  • The loss of trust
  • …and for many the loss of hope

Underneath the surface of the earth, there are cracks (or fault lines) everywhere.

Although they’re not necessarily visible to the eye, they are there. And it’s only when there’s an earthquake, that we realize what’s been there all along underneath the surface—the cracks.

Well, for many, 2020 was the year where we came face to face with the cracks in our lives.

2020 was the year where we came face to face with the cracks in our lives.
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The “earthquake” of this global pandemic, its shutdowns, and its ensuing effects revealed what was already there underneath the surface all along—the cracks:

  • The cracks in your marriage
  • The cracks in the way you deal with stress
  • The cracks in your family relationships
  • The cracks at work
  • The cracks in your finances
  • The cracks in your faith
  • …and the cracks in your identity

Everything that you used to place your identity in—when things were “normal”—was shaken, tested, and (for some) stripped away this past year:

  • If you lost your job and felt unrooted, it’s because you believe the lie that “you are what you do”
  • If your vacation plans were interrupted and you threw yourself a pity party, it’s because you believe the lie that “you are what you experience”
  • If the loss of in-person gatherings with friends, at work, with family, at church, or wherever else for that matter, sunk you into a deep hole of depression, it’s because you believe the lie that “you are who you know”
  • If you were incessantly searching for COVID-19 stats, obsessing over the news, or found yourself chasing after any one of the countless number of conspiracy theories from this past year, it’s because you believe the lie that “you are what you know”
  • If you were hoarding toilet paper, or found yourself shopping on Amazon way more than you usually do, it’s because you believe the lie that “you are what you own”
  • If you were humble bragging over your ability to simultaneously teach your children and work at home, or refused to post anything because your kids were on electronics all day long, it’s because you believe the lie that “you are who you raise”
  • If you were, and are still, trying your darnedest to get back to the way things used to be before COVID-19 because life was better back then, it’s because you believe the lie that “you are your past”

Friends, none of this is supposed to shame you or give you a guilt trip…

…but if you found yourself nodding to any of the previous bullet points (like me) it’s because 2020 merely revealed the cracks that were already there underneath the surface.

Everything that you used to place your identity in—when things were “normal”—was shaken, tested, and (for some) stripped away this past year.
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The point of this article is to simply help you uncover what is, so that you can move forward in 2021 to what will be:

A life that is not characterized by the loss that comes when we live bound to the chains of these lies, but a life that is free and full when we replace these lies with the truth of who we really are.

So in 2021, I want to invite you into a journey of discovering which of these seven lies you’ve lived according to and how to lay them down by reading my book, You Are What You Do: And Six Other Lies About Work, Life, and Love. In my book, I carefully unpack the many ways we often believe each of these seven lies, the unintended consequences when we live according to them, and how to break free from them.

Let’s together choose a life of resistance.

The kind of resistance that opts for love over hate, light over darkness, forgiveness over shame, and generosity over greed.

The kind of resistance that uncovers who we aren’t, so that we can begin the journey of discovering who we really are.

And the kind of resistance that begins with the truth that you are not what you do, you are not what you experience, you are not who you know, you are not what you know, you are not what you own, you are not who you raise, and you are not your past.

I will choose a life of resistance. The kind of resistance that opts for love over hate, light over darkness, forgiveness over shame, and generosity over greed.
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What COVID-19 is Revealing about Your Church

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Have you ever noticed that one of your arms is stronger than the other?

I find that most days, this goes unnoticed—it doesn’t matter if I’m lifting a box that came from Amazon, or setting up tables and chairs for an event. It’s only when I’m lifting weights at the gym—or these days in my makeshift home gym—that I recognize just how much my right arm is stronger than my left.

It’s not immediate though. I don’t necessarily notice it when I start bench pressing. It’s only when I get to my third or fourth set of reps that I start realizing the imbalance because the bar starts dipping slightly lower on my left side.

Let’s think about this for a moment.

Why do you think this is happening? Is it that my left arm suddenly got weaker? And that the weight lifting caused my muscles to deteriorate?

Or, is it that my left arm was already weaker from the outset? And when pressed, put under pressure, and tested, the true strength and health of my arm was simply revealed?

Friends, this global pandemic has not only pressed us to our limits, pressured us beyond our point of comfort, and tested us in ways that we never thought we could handle, but it’s also done the same to the church.

The church is being pressed. The church is being put under pressure. And the church is being tested.

Global pandemic or not, the church has always been a body of believers that are both scattered and gathered. We are called to scatter and share the good news of Jesus making disciples of all nations (Matt 28:18-20), but we are also called to gather regularly and be of an encouragement to one another (Hebrews 10:25). We are called to scatter and gather. Scatter and gather.

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How Our Brains React in Crisis

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Yesterday on a podcast, I heard Dr. Henry Cloud share a profound insight on the way our brain reacts during crisis—like the global pandemic that we’re all living through at the moment. Here’s my attempt at a summary and paraphrase.

Generally speaking, our brains make maps about how to do life.

For example, when we are hungry and want to eat a sandwich, our brains have a map that will show us how to get out of our chairs and walk to the fridge. But let’s say, someone rearranged the furniture in your living room over night, and the next time you were hungry, a couch was blocking your way. In this instance, your brain will actually register this as an ERROR according to neuroscientists.

Generally speaking, our brains make maps about how to do life.
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When this happens, your whole system amps up. And for a moment—when your system is really amped up—you lose emotional, spiritual, psychological, and physical functioning and you are thrown off. However, once you recognize that it’s just a couch and that you can walk around it, your body begins to go back to normal. 

Right now, we are living in an ERROR.

Because of this global pandemic, our entire lives are registering on our brains—with red lights twirling around and sirens blasting—ERROR ERROR ERROR.

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Bold Confidence

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I love seeing the world through the eyes of my 5 year old son.

When we’re together, he feels like he’s invincible. When he’s with me, he has the confidence to stand up to anyone—regardless of their size or age. It’s like he thinks he’s superman or something.

It’s like something inside of him changes when he knows that I’m there. He stands a bit taller, walks with his head up, and isn’t afraid to speak. It’s as if there’s this bold confidence that seems to well up from within him when he knows that I’m there…together with him.

I think this is what the David is referring to here in Psalm 27. Here are the first six verses.

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